


Assassination Classroom: Whumptober Time

by amuhseen



Series: Assassination Classroom Fics [8]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mind Control, Shiota Nagisa-centric, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26911249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuhseen/pseuds/amuhseen
Summary: Basically where I put my baby blueberry through hell for a monthBecause of stuff, I arrived late to the game so I might not be able to all of the Whumptober prompts (especially because I've got a bunch of other WIPS) but I'll try to do as much as I canI'll add the necessary tags for each chapter
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Series: Assassination Classroom Fics [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797424
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	1. HANGING

**Author's Note:**

> TW: SUICIDE

The door of Nagisa’s apartment building creaked as Sugino opened it, it’s sound reverberating off of the darkened hallway. The dim hanging overhead lights buzzed with every flicker, casting the corridor with a pale golden haze. Sugino entered the building, the soles of his favourite trainers squeaking against the smooth cold tiles of sandstone. He closed the door behind him with a sigh to the phone that was pressed against his ear, resuming the conversation he had on the group call with his old Junior High classmates, “he just hasn’t been himself, you know.”

“ _ I totally understand you _ ,” Kayano said, “ _ it’s like he has stopped talking to us. He used to send us a text on the group chat at least once every three days. Now it’s been a week since we’ve last heard from him. _ ”

“ _ I mean, there’s a chance that he’s just swamped with university work _ ,” Maehara offered, “ _ plus he does volunteer at that elementary school as well so he might not have the time to chat anymore _ .”

“But it’s not just chatting,” Sugino argued, climbing up the staircase that led him to the blunette in question’s apartment, muscle memory driving him forward, “he barely responds to my texts and when he does it’s one or two word answers. Everytime I invite him to go somewhere he just shoots me down. It’s clear something’s wrong with him but whenever I ask him he just does that thing where he tells you that he’s fine but it’s really obvious that he’s lying.”

Nakamura scoffed, “ _ sounds about right. Oh, Nagisa you haven’t changed much, have you? _ ”

“ _ You know _ ,” Isogai mused, “ _ now that you mention it, there was something that was concerning. About a week ago I tried calling him for something - I can’t really remember what exactly it was - but when I did the call wouldn’t go through, it kept saying that his phone was switched off _ .”

“ _ What, Nagisa? _ ” Okano asked, the confusion embedded in the lilt of her voice not going unnoticed, “ _ but that guy never turns his phone off. _ ”

“ _ Yeah _ ,” Okajima butted in, “ _ remember how back on our field trips in middle school he would bring about three of those portable charger things so that his phone would never lose charge. He always said that he wants to be able to be contacted at all times in case of emergencies. _ ” 

“ _ I remember that _ ,” Nakamura said fondly, “ _ it was one of the many reasons why we called him the class dad _ .”

“ _ Isogai’s right about being concerned with his phone being off and him being unreachable _ ,” Karma said, “ _ it’s not like him to just refuse to speak to people. Even when he’s upset he still answers and does a terrible job of acting like he’s fine. _ ”

“ _ Karma, you saw him last right? _ ” Isogai asked, “ _ did you notice anything off about him? _ ”

“ _ Apart from the fact that he seemed stressed with studies, he seemed alright _ ,” the redhead answered, “ _ I mean he clearly wasn’t eating enough and looking after himself properly but he’s always been like that. He was smiling and none of them looked fake - and trust me I know when he’s faking it. But then again… _ ”

“Yes,” Sugino urged impatiently, the worry that was gnawing at his mind was now full on devouring it, sharp tingles of disquietude bombarding his body with every concerning word his friends said. It was common knowledge that although Nagisa was the epitome of emotional intelligence and stability, with his capability of providing comfort and reassurance to those that came to him, he was incredibly closed off about his own feelings, more often than not caging himself within his own walls to prevent anyone coming to close. As trusting as the petite mild-mannered boy was when it came to receiving orders and his conviction that everyone is capable of doing, his mind was an unsolved mystery, shut off from prying eyes that would ask too many wrong questions. Nagisa portrayed himself as an open book - always ready to give out information when asked - but in reality he was like a sealed vault with an access code that no one would ever be able to even attempt to get right. 

‘ _ Actually, _ ’ Sugino’s head supplied, ‘ _ he’s more like a bomb. He’s building himself up with so much pressure that one day he’s going to break. Hopefully, my intervention is not too late for that. _ ’

The whole reason he was walking up the stairs of his best friend’s apartment block like a man on a mission was actually because Nagisa’s sudden hermit-like behaviour was noticed not just by him but also his school. He was in his college’s changing rooms, packing up after an hour of baseball practice, when he got a call from Keisetsu University informing him that Nagisa hadn’t showed up for classes in two days and was unreachable (yeah, he made himself Nagisa’s emergency contact for everything - let’s just say an incident happened in high school that involved a hospital and he did not want to repeat it). And then, later, when he called his little brother to tell him that he’s going to come home later, his sibling made a comment that his classmate, Sakura (yep, turns out that the girl that Nagisa tutors and hangs out with is the same age as his little bro and they both go to the same school - which has lead to a  _ lot _ of interesting stories) has mentioned that Nagisa was ‘acting a bit sad’ when he was helping her with her research essay last week. 

“Well,” Karma’s voice cut into his thoughts like a knife, “we went out for drinks and he got a bit tipsy - okay well, a lot tipsy-”

“ _ You got him drunk? _ ” Kataoka asked disapprovingly. 

“ _ What? It’s not my fault that he’s such a lightweight that one shot makes him stagger. Well, anyways, I asked him what he wanted to do and - this was after like two drinks - and he said ‘I don’t mind as long as I can sleep. _ ”

There was silence after that.

“ _ Well… _ ” Maehara started.

“ _ That’s concerning _ ,” Okajima said.

Kayano sounded horrified, “ _ why didn’t you say anything? _ ”

“ _ Because I thought he was talking about his insomnia. We all know that he's had that since junior high and I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks at that point so I didn’t really know what was going on. I knew I had to be concerned but usually pushing him and cornering him only ends up with him pushing you even further. _ ”

“ _ Well, at least Sugino’s there now, right Sugino? _ ” Yada tried to cast a ray of hope onto her friends, “ _ I’m sure that once you speak to him, he might tell us what’s wrong. _ ”

“Yeah, I’m just about to enter the apartment actually,” the black haired boy replied, “the plan is to invite him to a sushi restaurant, he never says no to sushi.”

“ _ I think he’ll like that _ ,” Kayano’s voice displayed her smile, “ _ be sure to look after him for us, alright. _ ”

“Don’t worry, I will,” all of a sudden, he felt every hair stand on end, he felt on edge as he stepped in front of Nagisa’s apartment door, an impending sense of doom loomed over him like a stubborn grey stormcloud, “actually can you guys stay on for a bit please, something feels off.”

“ _ Uhh _ ,” Maehara said, “ _ sure? _ ”

“ _ Is everything alright there, Sugino _ ?” Isogai asked.

“I don’t know,” he buzzed the doorbell. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. He knocked on the door with a call of Nagisa’s name. No answer. He then began pounding onto its wooden surface with his fist, “Nagisa! NAGISA! NAGISA IT’S ME SUGINO! LISTEN, I HAVE THE KEY YOU GAVE ME SO IF YOU DON’T OPEN THE DOOR IN THREE SECONDS I’M COMING IN!”

Ignoring some of his friends’ complaints of him bursting their eardrums, he rummaged through his pockets, procured the spare key Nagisa gave him and turned the lock. He stepped inside to find himself greeted by nothing but the sound of stillness. Everything in his field of vision appeared orderly, no sign of mess apart from a few scattered couch cushions. The many potted plants that Nagisa loved to collect stood slumped, their foliage green but wilting under the institutional white ceiling lights. 

“ _ Sugino, what’s going on? _ ” Maehara asked.

“He’s not here. I can see his shoes and jacket but it’s too quiet.”

“ _ Maybe he’s just asleep _ ,” Kayano supplied.

“Yeah, I’ll go check the bedroom.”

He walked towards Nagisa’s bedroom door with trepidation, his heart drumming like thunder against his chest. It seemed like every second of complete silence caused another tidal wave of fear to crash over him, making his breathing shallower, “Nagisa! Nagisa, buddy, where are you?!”

Slowly he reached towards the door handle, carefully pulling it down with shaking hands before opening it. He looked in front of him and-

Nagisa was there. He was there, alright - with his head slumping loosely from it’s position around a noose. Slivers of glassy blue glinted in the tiny gaps between heavy eyelids. His abnormally pale body, now tinted with light blue hung stock still in the centre of the room and his blue and purple mouth was parted, but no breaths were going to be released anytime soon.

Sugino’s phone felt like water as it slipped through his slackened fingers, it’s screen cracking as the many concerned voices of his former classmates shouted from the device but he couldn’t hear them, couldn’t hear anything apart from the blood rushing past his ears. His eyes focused on his best friend’s suspended form like a movie camera, fading the background and every other surrounding into a blur of nothing. Only this wasn’t a movie, this was real - if the chocked up coughs spasming in his throat and the biting nips of the chilly apartment were anything to go by. 

He screamed.


	2. STOP, PLEASE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Karmagisa
> 
> TW: Mind Control

The rattling of raindrops pelting onto the dilapidated roof and broken down windows reverberated through the abandoned warehouse, mingling with the cacophony of moans emitted by the harsh gusts of wind. The air felt cold and chilly, but Karma was undeterred. Unlike the rest of his classmates who joined him on this rescue mission, he wasn’t taken aback by the appearance of the storehouse, with it’s rusted metal walls, crumbling floor and pieces of broken metal, glass and cardboard scattered around the floor, just waiting to cause harm. No, he had something far more important in mind to worry about the high pitched squeaking of rats and the dark splodges on the walls and ceilings of this ramshackle building that looked and smelled suspiciously like dried blood.

No, he had a goal in mind. A goal that was 159 cm tall and had the most beautiful blue eyes imaginable. A goal that he couldn’t bear to live without and had been missing from his side - where his rightful place was - for the past few hours. You see, earlier that afternoon, Shiota Nagisa - his boyfriend, his better half, his everything - wasn’t answering his texts, which, to anyone else, isn’t the biggest red flag but to Karma, it sent alarm bells ringing. Nagisa always answered his texts, always, unless of course he’s in the bathroom or his mom…

Well, anyway, that wasn’t the case because his mother had left a day ago for a business trip and wasn’t returning until a few days later but who cares when he still hadn’t replied to Karma after an hour, 50 texts, 20 calls and 10 voicemails later. So now Karma was jittery. He prided himself on being cool and calm in times of distress, in being able to think clearly and logically to come up with a plan - it was one of the things that Nagisa admired about him - but now, there he was, pounding furiously onto the wooden surface of Nagisa’s apartment door, not giving a damn about how loud he was being. His heart was racing and why wasn’t Nagisa answering dammit! His phone chimed and he looked down, hoping and praying that it was a text from the blunette with some sort of explanation or apology for scaring him. But all he saw was:

_ Unknown: Come to the E-Class building. It seems like a little blue haired boy has gotten a bit lost. _

The rest of his classmates were in a frenzy when he had arrived; voices were raised, tears were shed, morbid conspiracy theories were flung around like they were pleasantries. But he had no use for them, he had no use for anything that didn’t give him an explanation. He stormed in through his classroom’s doors like a hurricane, ready to tear down anything and everything that stood in the way between him and Nagisa. His bloodlust was strong, palpable and whilst it wasn’t as overpowering as Nagisa’s, it was close and it stopped everyone in their tracks. He was wild, uncontrollable and was just about to punch something before Isogai’s grim figure handed him a piece of paper with coordinates on it, as well as a warning to not inform any of their teachers of this otherwise fate won’t be in their favour - a threat that seemed much more horrifying when written the few strands of baby blue that were taped onto the the sheet. 

Perfect. He’ll show this sucker just who they were messing with and make them pay. With their blood.

…..

_ “Holy shit,” Maehara breathed, circling the walls in front of them with his flashlight, “this place is like a labyrinth.” _

_ Isogai surveyed the many passages in front of them, his role as the class’ leader driving him to say, “We should split up.” _

_ “Split up!?” Okajima whisper-yelled, his hands on his head, that was shaking wildly, “Are you crazy?! That’s exactly what happens in horror movies before people die!” _

_ “What choice do we have?” the class representative argued, “there are too many options for us all to go at once and since this building is so off the grid not even Ritsu can give us blueprints. If we want to find Nagisa, splitting up is our best bet.” _

_ “I suppose you’re right,” Kimura gulped as he heard a high pitched wail followed by the clamour of lightning and thunder, that for a split-second cast an eerie light onto the desolate building that they were in, “doesn’t make it less scary.” _

_ “Well you guys can go on ahead,” Karma said as he walked towards one of the corridors, “I’m going by myself.” _

_ “Karma-” Kayano started, only to be interrupted. _

_ “Nagisa’s been kidnapped,” Karma’s voice was terse, “the last thing I need is you idiots slowing me down.” _

_ “Hey,” Sugino said, eyebrows furrowed, “I get that you guys are dating but Nagisa is my best friend too. All of us are worried for him so it’s best if we work together to-” _

_ “I mean it,” Karma snapped, pointing his knife threateningly at the crowd of his classmates, “I’m going by myself and if any of you stop me…” _

_ Everyone shivered, and it wasn’t because of the biting cold. _

_ “Just keep your comm-link on,” Isogai instructed, “so that we can all give each other updates.” _

_ Karma nodded briskly and turned on his heel _

……. __

  
  


Karma continued walking, his government-given sneakers squelching on the puddles of murky water caused by the dripping leaks from the roof. He knew he was getting closer to the petite blunette, he could feel it. That magnetic force that always pulled him towards the shorter boy was what strung him along, acting as his own personal compass. However, despite his confidence in his path, when he found himself standing at the entrance of another empty room, he groaned and cursed to himself. But then, he felt it - that sense of danger that he can almost always detect. Hackles raised, he entered, not even flinching when the door slammed shut behind him. Ahh, so he’s getting close. If there’s one thing that he’s learned from playing video games is that when he’s getting near to the enemies he’s going the right way (“You can’t just say that every time you pick a fight, Karma,” Nagisa had said dryly). 

“Well, well, well,” a menacing voice boomed out from the shadows, “what do we have here. Has the little boy come back to Daddy?”

Karma’s eyes widened. 

That voice.

The sound of a switching flicking was what he heard before the single, dimly lit overhead lightbulb fizzed to life, flickering hazy yellow onto the murky grey walls and floor and revealing the owner of the other person in the room and his suspicions were proven correct. That burly build, flattened dark hair and deranged countenance.

“YOU!” Karma yelled, taking a threatening step forward.

Takaoka laughed, “Oh hello there, what seems to bring you here. Did you miss Daddy?”

“Where’s Nagisa,” he snarled, doing his best to push down the desire of stabbing this guy in the chest. He couldn’t kill him - no matter how good this bastard would look with the light in his eyes dimmed, with his own hands covered in the blood of the monster that took away the only good and pure thing he had in his lonely and cold life - after all, as much as he’d hate to admit it, Takaoka was the only one who knew where Nagisa was. Then, once he had his little blueberry in his arms, he’d make the man beg for mercy that he’d never give.

“Who?” Takaoka asked, his head tilted and voice lilted with faux innocence.

“You know who,” Karma’s temper was at optimum level and he couldn’t get rid of the red seeping around the edges of his vision if he tried.

“Oh you mean that little blue brat that defied me? He’s fine. More than fine actually.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

Karma glared, face dark with rage, “If you hurt a single hair on his head-”

Takaoka laughed, eyes wild and manic, “Don’t worry you’re little head about him. Why would I hurt him when he’s so useful to me?”

Useful?

“What the f*ck are you on about?!” Karma yelled, “WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!” 

“Patience, child,” the man cooed condescendingly, “you’ll find out soon enough. Oh the expression on your face is adorable. I can’t wait to see what you and your friends will look like when you all die.”

“You’re going to kill me?”

“No,” Takaoka smirked, “ _ he _ is.”

Before he could blink, he felt his back slam hard against the wall, sending a sharp burst of pain up his spine. Thin fingers were wrapped around his throat, trapping him in place. He opened his eyes to get a look at his attacker only to feel an anvil drop in his stomach.

Lightning struck, illuminating Nagisa’s hard face, making it look stern, jagged and sharp around the edges, nothing like the sweet little angel that would smile and blush at the slightest hint of praise, nothing like the warm comforting gaze that would be directed to him as they walk together hand in hand. His eyes were glowing electric blue, tinted with uncharacteristically unnatural green near the circumference of his pupils.

“Na-Nagisa…” Karma breathed out, both in shock and due to the struggle he currently had in breathing.

“What,” Takaoka grinned as Nagisa tightened his grip, “was this not the reunion you were expecting? And to think he was so disobedient before. All it took was a few drops of a serum and now he’ll never go against me again.”

“What-what did you do to him?” Karma whispered, fear like no other swirling in his gut.

Takaoka’s face darkened, the facade of abnormal happiness washing off of him. He growled out, “your class took everything from me: my job, my titles, my reputation. Everything I loved, everything I worked for. You broke it, destroyed it with your own hands. So I decided to return the favour. You see Daddy knows what’s best for his children. And if destroying things is what you brats want then that’s what you’ll do. Starting with the one who thought it would be a good idea to go against me to begin with. Of course, I can’t kill you all by myself so I needed to get some help and this little rascal was the perfect guinea pig. You see why would I want to break you down myself when I can get one of your own to do it for me. Well, I’m going now. I hope you kids play nice.”

And with that Takaoka left, leaving the two of them alone in the abandoned room.

“Nagisa,” Karma choked out despite the fingers - the same fingers that would cup his cheek with all of the gentleness in the world - at his throat, “Nagisa, it’s me. Can’t you see me?”

‘ _ He can’t hear you _ ,’ Takaoka’s voice crooned in the back of his head.

He was losing oxygen so he had to act. Fast. With a grunt, he karate chopped the curve of Nagisa’s elbow, making the shorter boy loosen his grip so he used all the strength he could muster to push him away. However, all of his strength didn’t seem to be enough because Nagisa just pushed him back with full force, the impact of his head against the wall making black spots blossom in his vision. For a few seconds, the two of them were just shoving each other and Karma never felt so tired in his life. He always had the upper hand in a fight - even if he was against men double, triple his size. Months of street fights and self-taught weapon-handling would make it impossible for him to get so worn out so soon. If he were against anyone else, they’d already be knocked out.

But his opponent was _ Nagisa _ . Nagisa! Nagisa, who would always put others before himself, who would never deny someone a consoling ear or gentle hug, who reached out to a problem demon child like him with a smile despite the darkness he carried and offered him a life of warm smiles and gentle touches that he definitely did not deserve, who he loved with every fibre of his being - and who was currently glaring at him with hatred that he didn’t even know the other possessed. He can’t fight him. He can’t.

“Nagisa, please,” Karma begged, not caring that his voice was starting to crack, “snap out of it.”

Nagisa growled, the noise deep and feral and nothing at all like the pacifist he knew, as he gave Karma another hard shove. Karma retaliated by wrapping an arm around Nagisa’s neck, sending a knee in between Nagisa’s legs and pushing himself up so that he can wrap his legs around the other’s neck in a choke-hold, twisting his body so that the two of them were sent sprawling to the floor. Karma quickly got up but was then hindered by a sting of pain bursting along his calf. Gritting his teeth he looked down to see blood seeping out of a large cut on his lower leg before quickly dodging Nagisa’s knife-wielding (where the hell did he get a knife from?!) fist. Nagisa surged forward again but Karma let his instincts take over, using his arm to block his attack.

“Nagisa, come on, this isn’t you.”

The knife grazed his face, gashing a line of scarlet against his cheek.

“You’re not violent.”

He sent a punch to Nagisa’s face. It made the cracks in his heart grow.

“You’re not aggressive.”

He held onto either side of Nagisa’s face, trying to look past those tinges of unnatural green so that he could dig deep into the other’s unconscious, searching for any hints of the boy he swore he would spend the rest of his life with. Eyes. ‘The windows to the soul’, Nagisa called them. Well, it seemed like someone decided to close the blinds because the blank look he got back showed nothing.

But still, “I love you, Nagisa. I love you. Stop this, please. I don’t want to fight you, Nagi.”

Nagisa’s reply to his cries was a sharp thrust of his head, colliding his crown with Karma’s nose, sending him staggering backwards. Before he could even gather his bearings, the blunette jumped and kicked him with a spin, firing him to the floor yet again. His face burned, both from the grazes and from the stinging of his still tearing eyes. God, he felt useless. He’s the highest ranker in combat - why the hell was he still fighting a battle he could’ve won ages ago.

Wait a minute. Why was he still fighting?

Nagisa wasn’t a fighter. It’s no secret that he wasn’t the best at close combat (the amount of times he would find himself as the loser during sparring practice was more than enough evidence). His skill in assassination was suprise attacks. To come out of nowhere and then disappear into thin air like he was never there to begin with. If Nagisa was really trying to kill him, he would’ve just used his knife to slit his throat or stab him in the chest or something within the first few seconds. The fact that he chose to draw it out instead of using that speed that even managed to let him get the drop on Karasuma-Sensei - that meant that -

He was holding back. He was fighting it.

Karma felt like crying again. Even when he was under mind control, even when he was reduced into nothing but a killing machine, a soldier with no conscious thought and only had murder on his mind - he still didn’t want to kill Karma. 

God, he really f**king loved his little blueberry. And he sure as hell isn’t going to lose him to some stupid brainwashing serum. He knew what he had to do.

Karma dashed forward and…

He felt Nagisa freeze when he wrapped the other in a warm embrace. In the corner of his eye he could see the shorter teen’s hand clenching on the knife but that didn’t stop him from burying his face into the other’s shoulder. He murmured, ignoring Nagisa squirming in an attempt to get out of his hold, “Please come back to me, I’m begging you. I love you Nagisa and I know you love me too. You’re stronger than this, I know you are - you’re one of the strongest people I know. I might be the one that gets higher grades but you, you’re the one that always knows what to do when it comes to people, who knows exactly what to say and how to say it.  _ I can’t do this Nagisa please, I can’t _ .”

Nagisa had somehow managed to free an arm, raising it so that he had the point of his knife aimed at Karma’s back. Karma closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to strike only-

He heard the clattering of something metal hitting the floor. He felt small hands press tenderly against his bruised back. He pulled back to look down at an adorably confused face (still so beautiful despite the scrapes and bruises littering here and there), sky blue eyes looking at him with bewilderment.

“Karma? What’s going on?”

  
  
  



	3. BLOOD LOSS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do love Nagisa, I swear

“I just can’t wait,” Nagisa said, eyes alight with childish eagerness and an excited smile radiating off of his face, “I mean I’ve heard rumours that Sonic Ninja was going to get a TV show but when the trailer was released this morning - it was just so good and I’ve watched it like fifty times already. I mean everything about it was so perfect and it teased so many things from the comics that the movies missed out on - like there was this one scene that showed a building that looked like the orphanage where one of the characters’ mother was raised which is so cool because the movies didn’t really go that much into the backstories of the older generation that much. Oh and there was like this one part where the camera pans over the headquarters and it looks all destroyed but there’s this emblem on the floor that is the same one that the third Sonic Ninja wore in the League Of Cats Saga - which was one of my favourite storylines. I’ve already got like a ton of theories.”

“Well, you sound excited,” Sugino teased with amusement, smiling at the way his best friend always got so lost in his adoration of his favourite franchise. It was hard to tell if the rosy hue on the shorter boy’s face was because he was embarrassed at his enthusiasm or because of the biting cold of the Japanese winter but it was adorable regardless.

“Heh, yeah I am,” Nagisa agreed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with an arm. He pierced another chocolate sauce covered mini pancake with his fork and plopped it into his mouth, closing his eyes in contentment at the warmth that covered his tongue, “I do get a bit carried away when it comes to superheroes.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Sugino said as he threw the now empty box of pancakes into a trash can that they just passed, “It’s normal to get excited about the things that interest you. I mean, have you seen how I get about baseball. It’s not a normal week in my house if mom doesn’t offer taking me to a therapist at least once. Besides it’s nice to see you talk about the things you love, you rarely do in class. I bet you’re counting down the days until the premiere, huh?”

“Yeah, I am. Next Saturday is marked on my calendar. Well, next Sunday technically.”

“Oh, why’s that?”

“It’s a Netflix show and since I don’t have Netflix I’ll have to use my regular streaming site, which always uploads on the day after.”

“You could just use mine,” Sugino shrugs simply, casually placing his hands in his pockets, “you’re more than welcome to.”

“Wha-no Sugino,” Nagisa stopped dead in his tracks and Sugino was worried that the sudden movement would’ve made him slip on the snow-turned-sludge that caked the pavement, “I-you really don’t need to do that. I’m fine really. One day isn’t going to make that much of a difference.”

The black-haired boy gave an all-suffering sigh at the other’s words, knowing for a fact what was coming, “listen man, it’s no big deal. You’re practically family anyway. My parents and brother love you, you know that.”

“Doesn’t mean that I can freeload off of you,” Nagisa mumbled.

“You’re not freeloading if I’m offering,” Sugino gave him a light whack on the back of his head, “and if it really means that much to you then you could just come over and we can watch the first episode together.”

Nagisa looked at him and gave a small smile, “okay, but I’ll have to ask my mom first, though.”

“Great.”

“If she lets me, though, you have to let me pay for the snacks.”

“Wha-Nagisa.”

“Hey, you’re paying for the account, I’m paying for the food. It’s the very least I could do.”

“Hm, you’re not going to drop this, are you?”

“No,” Nagisa replied brightly.

“Alright then.”

The two of them continued to walk along the sidewalk, feet crunching against freshly fallen snow and hands interlocked between them. 

“The snow’s really pretty,” Nagisa mused, looking up at the metallic silver clouds looming over them, “I’ve always loved walking home in the winter. Everything just looks so magical when it’s covered in snow, especially when people start decorating with the lights.”

“Yeah,” Sugino agreed softly, watching as the snowflakes twirled around in their own ballet dance, gracefully and elegantly descending like falling sakura blossoms, “I remember how I used to catch snowflakes with my tongue when I was younger. Last year, when the roads were closed because of too much snow, my dad took my brother and me out to the park and we had the best snowball fight ever and went sledding and mom made hot chocolate that was so amazing - totally made up for how I couldn’t play baseball for a week.”

“Sounds awesome,” Nagisa smiled, “snowball fights are enjoyable. Remember the one we had yesterday during break? I had a lot of fun.”

“Only because you were like the last one to get hit,” Sugino countered, “I still don’t know how you could hide when the snow showed your footprints. At least you were safe from that full-blown war.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“ _ Fuwa started charging at everyone with a sword _ . I don’t even know where she got a sword from.”

“But it was funny when I got Karma, right?”

“Yeah, it is really cool when you just appear out of nowhere like that. I mean it’s bad for the crazy people that try to hurt us but it’s cool when you use it for fun.”

“Heh, thanks,” Nagisa wore an expression of something Sugino couldn’t identify, “it’s weird though. All my life, I’ve been invisible. I’m used to people ignoring me and not paying attention to me. I never thought that me being invisible could be something useful in assassination. I guess I’m learning all sorts of things about myself this year.”

“I think we all are,” Sugino squeezed his hand, “and I can’t wait to learn more.”

“Me too,” Nagisa squeezed back, “I hope we make more memories with our class.”

Sugino opened his mouth to say something, probably to comment about how deep they were being on a Saturday afternoon fifteen minutes after they had been colouring the black and white picture on the back of WcDonalds’ kids menu, when it happened. 

Nagisa’s eyes widened, mouth opening with a surprised gasp, and before he knew it, Sugino felt all the breath leave him as he got shoved to the side, leaving him to stare aimlessly at his best friend who was running towards, towards-

“WATCH OUT!” Nagisa cried, jumping forwards and pushing some elementary school kid away right before-

Sugino wished that the following events would be a blur later. He wished that he would never be able to recall with complete lucidity the way Nagisa’s azure eyes widened just the tiniest fraction when the car had struck him, the way the air was bombarded with the screeching of tires, the blaring of headlights, the blood-curdling snap of what sounded like bones. For a split-second it was like someone had pressed pause and time was stuck in a freeze-frame, just so that the image of Nagisa a second away from death could be forever ingrained into his mind, so that every detail can be observed with perfect clarity. Then it was like a movie that was played both in fast-forward and slow-motion; the events that followed happened so rapidly that Sugino could do nothing but watch but so slowly that he was able to memorise every change that occurred at every second.

Nagisa’s body collided with the hood of the vehicle and he was sent flying, sprawling onto the side of pavement with a heavy skid. His body laid there, still, stationery, unmoving. The movements of his chest - if there were any to begin with - were infinitesimal and it was impossible to tell if his eyes were open or closed because of the red-coated strands of blue that hid them from view. 

Sugino ran. Fast. Faster than he does when he hits a home run, faster than he does during training, faster than he’s ever run before because that’s Nagisa, that’s his best friend who’s lying there  _ still still still _ . 

“NAGISA!” he screams, cries, begs, dropping to his knees. The sting of the tarmac grazing his knees has nothing on the corrosive cyanide that wells up in his eyes, blurring his vision but he can’t lose focus, can’t stop trying, “NAGISA GET UP! NAGISA COME ON!”

He shuffles closer to the - the  _ body, _ ignoring the scarlet wetness that stains his jeans, of the pool of rich crimson that’s a sickening contrast to the pure white snow and light grey gravel beneath them (like it’s yelling ‘look at me, look at me and know the truth’), and takes a limp hand. He fumbles with the wrist, his hands sweaty and loose against the frail, malleable appendage. At last, he places a thumb against the right artery-

Seconds pass.

Minutes pass.

Hours pass.

Nothing.

“Nononononono,” he mutters frantically. He grabs at Nagisa, turning him over-

Nagisa looks at him, eyes open but unseeing, their cerulean gaze foggy and clouded up. Tear tracks of red running down half of his ashen white face, dripping and dripping onto the street, painting his jacket, mingling with the pastel blue strands and dots of snow. Like a marinette, the shorter boy’s actions were under the control of the hands that held him. Sugino shook him and shook him and shook him.

“NAGISA! WAKE UP! COME ON MAN! THIS ISN’T FUNNY! WAKE UP! GET UP! NAGISA PLEASE!”

The blunette remained unmoving, unblinking, un-anything-ing. His head resting on the baseball lover’s lap, as if he was just in a deep sleep.

“Nagisa…”

Sugino doesn’t think he’ll ever find snow fun anymore.


End file.
